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Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing

Dust Control Handbook for Industrial Minerals Mining and Processing

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The collector airflow has a more substantial impact on the ratio due to the many components thatmake up the collector. The dust collector airflow can decrease over time through damagedcomponents <strong>and</strong> neglected maintenance. There<strong>for</strong>e, proper maintenance of the collector tomaintain maximum airflow is required. Collector maintenance involves five actions by theoperator:ensuring that filter backflushing is operating properly <strong>and</strong> within specifications;verifying that the intake duct <strong>and</strong> collector housing are tightly sealed <strong>and</strong> free of holes;changing filters at recommended intervals or when damaged;ensuring that the tubing <strong>and</strong> inlet to the collector are free of obstructions; <strong>and</strong>ensuring that the collector fan is operating properly <strong>and</strong> within its specified speed.Use of Collector to Bailing Airflow Ratios <strong>for</strong> <strong>Dust</strong> <strong>Control</strong>The collector to bailing airflow ratios are useful in that they <strong>for</strong>m the basis of a model to predictthe relative severity of the drill dust emissions <strong>and</strong> to estimate how much of a reduction ispossible by measuring several basic parameters of the drilling operation. The parameters neededare: dust collector airflow (Q C ), bailing airflow (Q B ), drill deck shroud cross-sectional area (A S ),<strong>and</strong> shroud leakage area (A L ) or an approximate estimate <strong>for</strong> the leakage area [Page et al.2008a,b].The model depicted as a graph in Figure 3.8 (top) shows the relative reductions possible byreducing the leakage area [Page et al. 2008a,b]. To demonstrate how the graph can be used, thefollowing example is given.An operator has a drill rig with drill deck dimensions of 4 feet by 5 feet. The ratedcompressor Q B is 260 scfm <strong>and</strong> Q C was measured at 530 scfm which represents acollector to bailing airflow ratio Q C /Q B of approximately 2. The area of the shroud is2calculated by multiplying the width by the length resulting in A S = 20 ft . A L iscalculated by multiplying the leakage height (LH) in feet by the perimeter of the2shroud which results in A L = LH x 18 ft. There<strong>for</strong>e, the ratio A S /A L = 20 ft /(LH x18 ft) <strong>and</strong> can be calculated by estimating LH.Since Q C /Q B = 2, the top graph in Figure 3.8 can be used to show how reducing theleakage gap between the shroud <strong>and</strong> the ground will reduce the severity of the dustconcentrations. A gap of 14 inches corresponds to A S /A L = 0.95, showing a relative3airborne respirable dust concentration of approximately 16 mg/m , while a gap of2 inches corresponds to A S /A L = 6.7, resulting in a relative airborne respirable dust3concentration of approximately 5 mg/m . This example demonstrates that reducingthe leakage height of the drilling operation will result in a substantial improvement indust reductions.It should be noted that any leakage area due to vertical shroud seam gaps should also be includedby estimating the area <strong>for</strong> vertical leakage <strong>and</strong> adding this value to the shroud leakage area (A L ),but many times vertical leakage may not be significant. Graphs <strong>for</strong> Q C /Q B greater than 2 aresimilar with the difference being that airborne respirable dust values at any value of A S /A L will88 Drilling <strong>and</strong> Blasting

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